Addiction Specialist Explains How Stars Like Liam Payne End Up in Treatment
While drug and alcohol dependency is common and impacts everyone regardless of race, sex or class, it is not always easy for stars like Liam Payne to seek out and obtain treatment. “At first, you start off with all fun, then you graduate to fun with problems, and then you graduate to all problems and […]
While drug and alcohol dependency is common and impacts everyone regardless of race, sex or class, it is not always easy for stars like Liam Payne to seek out and obtain treatment.
“At first, you start off with all fun, then you graduate to fun with problems, and then you graduate to all problems and [then] you’re creating wreckage in your life,” addiction expert Richard Taite exclusively told Us Weekly on Monday, October 21. “You get to a point where you can’t take it anymore, the people around you can’t take it anymore, [so] you go to rehab.”
While Taite never worked with Payne in the past, he has worked with Hollywood stars who needed professional help in order to successfully treat their substance or alcohol use. Taite, founder of Carrara Luxury Rehab & Addiction Treatment Center in Malibu, said that in his experience, he’s noticed how a celebrity’s “agents and managers” plus “star f–-ing doctors” can contribute to and even worsen a potential drug or alcohol problem.
“It’s hard because everyone’s kissing their ass,” he explained. “I mean, look, it’s the same reason Matthew Perry, Prince and Elvis died.”
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In addition to a potential enabling situation, living in the limelight can also play a role in contributing to a variety of mental health struggles that can exacerbate alcohol and drug use.
“I think that kind of thing is overwhelming for anybody,” Taite said of the responsibility a star may feel they have to their fans. “Whether they’re addicts or not, it’s overwhelming for anyone.”
While everyone’s journey is different, Taite acknowledged that a person’s emotional wellbeing typically plays a factor as to whether or not they turn to substances.
“Drug addiction doesn’t happen on its own, it happens for certain reasons, and one of the reasons is because people are in pain and so they start taking drugs,” he said. “And painkillers typically work better on emotional pain than physical pain.”
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Taite shared that when a celebrity comes to one of his facilities seeking help, it is always “voluntary.” Patients who choose to seek inpatient treatment can stay “between 30 and 90 days” depending on the severity of their problem.
“Our hook is love, empathy, respect, containment and attunement to someone’s needs before they know they have a need,” he explained. “So when they’re being assessed and they’re being observed for the first three to five days, when they’re going through their detox, we’re determining which interventions would be the right ones.”
Taite added that the process at his centers is “different for everybody,” since Carrara focuses on “individualized treatment.” In addition to combating drug use, Carrara also offers alcohol-related programs as well.
After treatment is completed, Taite told Us that he encourages all patients to utilize outpatient therapy to aid them in making sure they stay on their path to recovery. He also advocated for having a sober companion they can rely on.
“Every celebrity that I’ve ever treated, [or] almost everyone, is doing well, and the reason they do well is because when they leave here, they leave with a sober companion,” he shared. “They leave with a complete exit plan and they agree to [outpatient therapy] two to three times a week.”
Taite added that going to rehab is like building a “great foundation” that needs to be maintained beyond the walls of a drug treatment facility.
With reporting by Sarah Jones
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